"There is a time That stands still When the needle breaks And vibrates the frequency of our death." From the song "Tepid" by Primitive Man

After releasing their critically acclaimed debut full length in 2009 titled Our Cursed Rapture, Enfold Darkness seemed to have gone cold other than two singles that they had released in 2012 and 2015. And now after eight long years Enfold Darkness is on the verge of releasing their second full length titled Adversary Omnipotent through The Artisan Era.

Adversary Omnipotent is a monolithic return for these technical black metal masters. This release towers at thirteen tracks long and sports a staggering run time that clocks in at over an hour long, and each minute and each second of this release is filled with nothing but tightly knit and expertly crafted black metal for you to devour and bang your head to. There is not a moment within this release that is taken up with fillers or fluff what so ever. Through thirteen tracks you are gifted with a dark, melodic, technical, heavy and an ultimately unforgettable listen. After eight years of being away, Enfold Darkness storms back from the abyss with a monstrous and overall excellent sophomore record.

Enfold Darkness begins their new trek through the Netherworld with Awaken Brak’tal O’Minn which is a near two minute intro that is quite frankly the calm before the blackened storm. This ominous intro builds and builds before it fades away just for the second track Lairs Of Ascended Masters-as well as the rest of the record-comes crashing down upon you. From here on in you are greeted with expert musicianship, hellish larynx shredding vocals and a grim overall atmosphere. Each element on this record from the guitars to the drumming to the vocals and symphonic elements are executed seamlessly and effortlessly providing you with a cohesive and head spinning listen. There isn’t a thing that is out of place on Adversary Omnipotent as each track is woven together very well and performed very well gifting to you one hell of an all encompassing and heavy listen.

From the beginning of the record all the way through the tremendous tremolo picked riffs and the great bass lines make their presence known and felt. Through serpentine riffs that are coupled with soaring solos and rumbling bass lines, both the bass guitar and the twin riff wizards shine through each and every track never taking a moment off. Paired with the guitars are the acrobatic and purely pummeling and blasting drums that just don’t seem to quit. The drumming performance on this release is tight, technical and blasting as they barrel toward you punching you in the gut every chance that they get. Rounding out the purely blackened assault are the vocals that transition between more traditional black metal screeches to unearthly death metal growls all the way to a more demonic and haunting “clean” vocal that makes appearances throughout a handful of tracks throughout the album giving each of those tracks extra emotion. Each instrument as well as the vocals are woven together in harmony to create a wonderfully dark, captivating and wholly memorable listen.

Adversary Omnipotent isn’t just filled with blasting drums and skin melting riffs however. Throughout this release, Enfold Darkness incorporates a more down tempo sound as well that is complete with atmospheric symphonic elements as well as a more sullen and melancholic clean guitar sound. These bits are worked in excellently with all of the blasting madness that makes up the majority of the record providing you with even more variety and diversity as well as something else to sink your teeth into. Enfold Darkness doesn’t lurch to these sounds either as they are woven in very well creating a whole and unique sound.

Adversary Omnipotent truly is undeniable. This new record is heavy, atmospheric, technical, melodic and captivating. Once you begin listening you won’t be able to stop. There isn’t a track on this album that is missing anything at all and there isn’t a track on this release that you would want to do without. This is one fuck of a return for these black metal wizards and I’ll just leave it at that.

Adversary Omnipotent will be released through The Artisan Era on July 14, 2017